Olympics Bring Her Waves of Joy

Lanee Butler hauls her sail, all 7.4 meters of it, and her 12-foot Mistral sailboard in the back of whatever vehicle is available.

In five minutes, Butler has the board and sail out of the car, onto the ground at Dana Point Harbor, put together and out on the water.

The day is perfect. The breeze is strong, the harbor uncrowded. Butler takes off. A group of boys, day campers at the harbor, about 12 years old, are hooting, hollering, booing, whenever a board sailor tips over. Two men in the water tip over often. Butler doesn’t tip over.

Bill Wetherington, a 65-year-old retiree and lover of sailing, stands on the boardwalk watching Butler catch the breeze, weave right, then left. He listens to Butler howl with delight as the wind carries her faster and faster through the water.

“He’s so strong,” Wetherington says. Told that Butler is no he but a she, Wetherington is stunned. “Wow,” he says. “Then she’s really good.”

Yes, Butler is good. This 30-year-old Dana Hills High and UC Irvine graduate will be competing in her third Olympics next week. She will be the first woman sailor to represent the United States at three consecutive Olympics.

And, no offense to Wetherington, but up close there is no mistaking Butler for a man. She is 5 feet 3 and weighs 123 pounds. You’d think the wind would control Butler, but it’s the other way around. On her Mistral board, Butler is in control.

“I’m the strongest I’ve ever been,” Butler says, “and in the best physical shape of my life. The thing about this sport is that there are women 10 years older than me and 10 years younger. Age doesn’t matter.”

For as long as she can remember, Butler has sailed. She’d go down to Dana Point Harbor with her sister, Lynn. The two would spend hours--eight, nine, 10 a day--on whatever windsurfing board they could find. Christmas presents had better be boards.

This was not a sport that girls did because they wanted to be in the Olympics. “I always competed against guys,” Butler says. “It was hard to think about the Olympics in that case. There was no women’s class. I’d have been kidding myself to think about the Olympics.”

Butler was a quick study. She had learned windsurfing from Lynn when she was 13 and was racing competitively on the international circuit by the time she was 15. Most board sailors come to the sport only after years of single-handed sailing or surfing.

“I guess you could say I was a natural,” Butler says. “I just loved it. I love the feel of being on the water. It is the best way in the world to spend time.”

Until 1992 there was no official women’s class of board sailing. But at the Barcelona Games, a women’s Mistral board sailing class was added to the program. Butler won the U.S. trials and finished fifth in the Olympics.

In 1996, Butler won the trials again and finished 11th.

Butler never had any intention of retiring after 1996. She does not get rich from her sport. She scrambles to find sponsors and meticulously tapes strips of advertising on her sail every time she hits the water. You never know when a photographer might be around.

Western Asset, a small business in Pasadena owned by lovers of sailing, is Butler’s major sponsor. Power Bar, Body Glove, Water Girl Swimsuits, they all get a strip across Butler’s sail.

“It’s a hard sell,” Butler says. “It’s not like I can guarantee television time. Even in the Olympics.”

In fact, Butler is pretty sure she hasn’t had a whiff of TV exposure. But that’s not what has her continuing to pursue board sailing around the world. It is the love of the water and the wind and the competition.

Her life is one of chasing the wind. She has spent large chunks of time in Australia over the last two years. Her boyfriend lives in Sydney, a sailor as well.

She trains in Europe for a couple of months. She races whenever she can. There is no prize money available in these races, only pride. As much as is possible now, Butler is truly an amateur athlete.

When Butler is home in Dana Point she bunks with her grandmother, Gertrude Lane, who lives five minutes from the harbor. “I can store my stuff in her garage,” Butler says, “and be on the water in 10 minutes.”

Her mother, Carol, also lives in Dana Point. It is home for Butler and always will be. The cozy harbor still fits Butler perfectly.

Those young campers, by the way, never got a chance to boo Butler. The boys finally got it. They were seeing someone special. They began applauding. Finally.

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Diane Pucin can be reached at her e-mail address: diane.pucin@latimes.com